There’s no such thing as a fake feather

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0:00These are the cheapest feathers I could

0:01find at the craft store and they're all

0:03from real birds. Hi, I'm Lisa and this

0:06is Minute Earth. In addition to being an

0:09illustrator here, I love making

0:11costumes. Generally, I look for cheap

0:13materials. Fake hair, fake leather, fake

0:16fur, you name it. And these are all made

0:19of plastic. But cheap feathers are all

0:21100% real. One reason all craft feathers

0:25are real, though not the main one, is

0:26that there are lots of real feathers out

0:28there that need a job. Every chicken,

0:30turkey, and duck that ends up in a

0:32sandwich once had a whole lot of

0:34feathers, which can be used for

0:36insulation in blankets and coats, or

0:38they can be dyed fun colors and used for

0:40boas and fans. And because all birds

0:43naturally mold their feathers throughout

0:44their lives, even fancier feathers, like

0:46those from ostriches and peacocks, are

0:49pretty easy to come by. But the bigger

0:51reason we don't make fake feathers is

0:52that we cannot convincingly replicate

0:54real feathers with plastic, which is

0:57often the easiest and cheapest way to

0:59make fake stuff. Fake leather is just

1:01flattened plastic adhered to fabric

1:03that's both cheap and a pretty

1:05believable imitation of real leather.

1:07The same goes for fake hair. Plastic can

1:09be stretched into long wiry strands for

1:11wigs. Now, let's be real. It doesn't

1:13fool people who work with it. I use

1:15plastic hair in costumes all the time,

1:17and it is best from a distance. Anyway,

1:20if you attempted to mold a feather out

1:22of plastic, it would end up looking more

1:24like a leaf. It would be cheap, but not

1:27feathery at all. And that's because a

1:28feather's featheriness is the result of

1:30incredible structural complexity. Like

1:33this feather is tipped with thousands of

1:35microscopic velcro-like hooks and

1:36barbules that enable the feather to

1:38essentially zip up a lot like an actual

1:40zipper. This is what makes feathers

1:42waterproof and flightw worthy, but also

1:45what makes them look and feel like

1:46feathers. On top of that, a mold would

1:49produce a fake feather with a solid core

1:51of plastic. While the core of a real

1:53feather has a sponge-like structure with

1:55lots of air pockets, making the feather

1:57as light as, well, a feather. Even a

2:00feather's iridesence is the result of

2:02microscopic structural complexity. The

2:04keratin at the surface of the feather

2:06can act like a prism, bending light and

2:08giving the feather a translucent shine.

2:10Some of these itty bitty structures can

2:12be as small as 10 micrometers, which are

2:15too intricate to replicate with a

2:17plastic mold. There are artists and

2:19engineers out there using creative

2:21materials and methods to make super cool

2:23fake feathers, but the best ones are

2:26time-conuming and challenging to make.

2:28For now, mass-producing feathers is

2:30still for the birds.

2:33As the year comes to a close, we want to

2:35thank you for all of your incredible

2:37support. As you know, it's been

2:38challenging for science and science

2:40communicators. And one of the major

2:42reasons we've been able to survive and

2:44thrive is because you've been watching,

2:46commenting, and subscribing. I also want

2:48to give an extra special thanks to those

2:50of you in our Patreon community over at

2:52patreon.com/minuteear.

2:54We are so grateful. Happy holidays.

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There’s no such thing as a fake feather

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